new unique studio construction needs help

Ok, I had a few questions. I haven't even poured my slab yet so I have plenty of time to work with. Question 1, I have neigbors on one side of me that I am worried about as far as isolating sound. If I were to use double drywall with sheet-blok on that one side, would it help enough to justify the cost or is it not worth treating only one wall? I will be using rc8 through out anyway but that one wall is closest. Is it an all or nothing deal as far as that goes? Question 2, I have heard that some people have built a drum riser with sand in it for studios. What would be the benifit of doing that? I cant afford to float the floor but I wondered if this would help isolate bass or terminate sound more efficantly. I have about 2 tons of silca/ beach sand that could be used. Final question (for now) This studio I will be building will be unique in that It will also double as a home theater. I know the combo is different but I think it can be done since both types of rooms generally need sound isolation. I was planning on installing in-wall speakers for the theater section of it. Will cutting the holes out for the speakers depeat the purpose of the rc8/z channel? What if the speakers had a "box" built around them inside the wall? Any help anyone can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi, and welcome; if you follow ALL the bold points here (you missed several of them) http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 it will Answer a lot of questions Raise several MORE questions :? Give us enough data to begin changing your mind about a few things :wink: And then we can start covering anything that's left over, including problems/situations that are unique to YOUR project - we want you happy with the results, so we won't be squeamish about telling you when things you mention won't work... Steve

Ok, I did my searching and found lots of help. Basiclly here's the plan. I have about 10 thousand for a budget. I am planning on building a 16X 32 with the last 5 feet set for a bathroom. No control room as I am playing and recording solo. I will be using 2x6 on all exterior walls with rc8 and 5/8 drywall. The ceiling will be "vaulted" with 4 feet following the pitch of the roof/ trusses and then 8 feet flat then 4 pitch. I already have plenty of sound foam and the framing and drywall will be installed for free. My basic goal is to have a decent home theater and a decent recording studio that has isolation. I don't mind having a "dry" room. I record pretty loud at times and my closest neigbor will be about 1 acre away. It's not so much the fact that I might bother them, more so I am a little shy when I sing. I will try to put up a quick drawing of what I am tring to do soon. Any help would be appreciated. Im sure most people would find that a theater/ recording room combo would be impossible to do but I have made some good recordings in a 12 x 10 bedroom with radio shack mics so I don't need to go real crazy on things..

You have the common goal of isolation for both uses; a HT wants a fairly dry acoustic since surround is generally encoded for that type space. If you have a good quality electronic reverb unit you can use that for needed ambience in recordings. It's not optimum, but it's doable. Instead of RC 8, I'd consider using staggered stud wall framing; almost exactly the same result isolation-wise, cheaper than RC, no chance of free help mucking up the RC install. (It can be tricky) Another layer of drywall is the cheapest and best way to increase isolation; other "magic bullets" are 'way more expensive, and usually not as effective even if they WERE as reasonable in cost. If you want more balanced sound, I'd look for mineral wool and build your own absorbers instead of using a bunch of foam; more even absorption, plus you can even paint pictures on the cloth covers if your decor works with it. Waiting for your pix... Steve

I was planning on posting some drawings, I tried to use sketchup but was having a bit of trouble. Till then, I was wondering... I have a bunch of those 1'x1' white, almost cardbord type tiles that I got from a school or somewhere and I don't know if they can be used for my project. They are brown on one side and white with holes on the other side. I was told they were "sound tiles" but I'm not sure. They are ugly as heck but I wondered if they would be of any benifit if I sandwiched them between drywall sheets or pre rc8 post studs? Thanks. hope to have some pics soon

Those tiles are typically made of celotex or homosote; for the most part, no practical use in a studio IMO. Same stuff is sold in 4x8 sheets as "sound stop", "sound board", etc - costs about twice what sheet rock costs, and does about half as much... Steve